Pier 1 to close up to 450 stores

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 7 January 2020

Pier 1 Imports announced on Monday that it plans to shutter up to 450 of its stores in the United States and Canada.

The company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, sells home furnishings and decor, and has 973 locations. "Although decisions that impact our associates are never easy, reducing the number of our brick-and-mortar locations is a necessary business decision," CEO Robert Riesbeck said.

Pier 1 will also close some distribution centers, and while layoffs will take place, the company did not say how many jobs will be cut. A person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters Pier 1 has drafted a bankruptcy plan that it presented to creditors last month. The goal is for the company to re-launch with roughly $900 million in yearly sales. In 2013, the company's shares were trading at close to $500, and in late 2019, they plummeted to $5, Reuters reports.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.